Skip hoist



Aug. 9, 1932. G. J. oLDRoYD 1,870,962

SKIP HOIST Filed oct. 7, 192e 4 sheets-sheet 1 Gerald? J ZZOycZ Aug. 9, 1932. G. J. LDRYD SKIP HOIST Filed Got. 7, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 SKIP HOIST G. J. oLDRoYD Filed Oct.

Aug. 9, 1932.v

Aug. 9, 1932. s. J. oLDRoYD SKIP-HOIST Filed Oct. 7. 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Au. 9, 1932 an srA'i-Esv PATENT oFFici-z I GERALD J. OLDROYI), OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO LINK-BELT COMPANY, F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION 0F ILLINOIS SKIP HOIST Application led ctober 7, 1929. Serial No. 398,017.

My invention relates to skip hoists and has for one obj ect to provide a new and improved form of skip hoist, either single or double, wherein the discharge point may be adjusted throughout substantially the entire range of 7' Another object is to provide, in co-operation with such dumping cam, automatic means whereby the skip propelling mechanism will cause the skip to stop when it reaches the dumping position and to reverse from that position, wherever that may be. Another object is to provide means associated with such movable dumping cam or cams if there are two used for a balanced pair of skips,

means for automatically adjusting the relation between the two skips and the hoisting engine so that changes in the length of eXcursion of the skip will not interfere with the operation and will permit them to load at the proper point and dump at the proper point. Other objects of my invention will appear from time to time in the specification.

My invention is illustrated more or less diagrammatically in the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure l is a side elevation and Figure i2;

a front elevation of an apparatus arranged to cause the dumping of a single skip at adjustable, variable discharge levels;

Figure 3 is a side elevation and Figure l a front elevation of an apparatus arrangedI to cause variable dumping of a pair otbalanced skips;

scale of skip and traveling dumping carriage or switch;

Figure 6 is a front elevation ofthe device shown in Figure 5. j

Figure 7 is a diagrammatic view showing the lower end of the skip hoist with adjustable loading means.` Y

l A, A are agplurality of generally upright bucket guides. They may be absolutely vertical, they may be inclined, they may be vertical throughout part of their length and inclined throughoutpart of their length as the case may be. Mounted for reciprocation along each pair of guides is a bail A1 'having at leither end guide-engaging rollers A2 A2. A3 is a hoisting cable extending upwardly along the guides Jfrom the bail over a vsheave A4` at the top. This hoisting cable is wound about a drum A5 on any suitable type of' hoisting engine, preferably, though not necessarily, electrically controlled and operated. Extending outwardly from a bail at the 'bottom is a bracket A6. lPivoted on this bracket, and extending inwardly toward and prefen ably through the bail, and also outwardly away from the bracket, is the skip lor bucket A7, open at the top in the usual manner; rThe pivot point of the bucket on the bracketis such that the bucket, when loaded or when emptied, is unbalanced and tends to rotate, as .shown in Figures 1 and 3, in a counter-clockwise direction through the bail. A8 is a stop or bracket on the bail limiting the counter-clockwise movement of the bucket.

B, B are generally upright traveling carriage guides arranged generally parallel withV the bucket guides, no matter what their inclination may be. These traveling carriage guides are located vin lfront of the bucket 1 guides and so spaced with respect to them and the -bucket that the up-and-down movement of the bail and bucket is not interfered with by these guides, and so that the bucket may rotate into the dumping position between them. Traveling along these guides'is a trav-v eling carriage B1 supported by means of a cable B2 extending over a slieave B3 down to a hoisting engine B4. `Mounted on this travv eling carriage vis a discharge hopper B5,y and Figure 5 is a side elevation on ail-,enlarged associated with the traveling carriage are dis# charge guides or cam tracks Bk for the bucket.

, The bucket has adjacent its front side and toward the top dumping rollers B7 adapted, j when the bucket reaches the dumping point, to engage the discharge vguides vor switch tracks and to be guided thereby outwardly to cause rotation oi' the bucket into thedumping position, as shown toward the top of Figure 1. A latch B8 may be carried by th-e bail A1, tending to hold the bucket against rotation. This latch is adapted to be closed by a spring B9 which holds it seated on the bucket. The latch is provided with a tail B19 adapted to be engaged by a cam B11 on the traveling carriage, which cam lifts up the latch as the dumping rollers, B7 approach engagement with the switch track, so as to leave the bucket free to tilt and dump.

The up-and-down movement of the traveling carriage is controlled by means ofthe hoisting engine associated with it, being manipulated and set by the operator to move the traveling carriage to any desired height Yand there hold it in position. traveling carriage may be, the bucket as it comes up to it will be dumped, and so by this arrangement thebucket may be caused to dumpl at any point above. its loading point within the range of movement of the traveling carriage.

The hoisting engine which operates the bucket is preferably, as above indicated, electrically controlled, and it has the conventional type of electric control apparatus which causes it to go up when loaded, stop in' the dumping position, andreverse. There is mounted on the bail a cam C which engages a cam@1 on the traveling carriage. As the bail goes up and engages this cam it sets the electric control, preferably with a time relay, in operation so that by the time the bail has gone past the traveling carriage, carrying the bucket into the dumping position as shown, the electric control will operate to stop the hoisting engine for a suiicient length `of time to permit dumping, and then will reverse toV cause the bucket to descend for its next load. Thus the mere movement of the traveling carriage in a direction alongthe path of the bucket is sufficient to change not merely the point atwhich Vdumping takes place but the point at which the stopping and reversal of movement of the skip occurs.

When this device is applied to a pair of balanced skips as distinguished fromV a single skip, complication enters in, in that, if one bucket stops at an intermediatejpoint withoutV change in the distance along the'cable between the two buckets, the other bucket will nothave gone down to the loading point. It is necessary, therefore, to provide means for adjusting the relation between the two balanced skips or buckets and the hoisting engine, so that one bucket will always be at the discharge point at the same time that the other bucket is atfthe loading point, and vice versa, independent of the lengthf of travel of the buckets between the loading and the discharge points.,A This adjustment is accomplished in the following-manner by the mechanism indicated in Figures 3 and 4'.y

. No. l bucket is supported by. a hoisting Wherever lthat cable D which extends up over a sheave D1, thence across to a second fixed sheave D2, thence down over a sheaveD3,thence up over a sheave D4, across to another sheave D5, and thence down to the hoisting engine D, where this linemay be wound about a drum and dead-ended, or be wound about a drum and come out as line D7, passing over sheaves Ds and D9 to bucket No. 2. As long as sheave D3 remains in place, movement of the hoisting engine will cause the two buckets to reciprocate in opposite directions. However, any movement of the sheave D3 with the hoisting engine at rest will tend to raise or lower bucket N o. l, as the case may be. Thus with the'parts in the position shown in Figure L bucketNo. 2 is at the loading position, bucket No. l is at the uppermost possible discharge position. If sheave D3 isr raised bucket- No. l will be lowered ananiount equal to twice the shortening of the distance between D2 and D3 andD3 and D4. Thus, if the bucket is to dump at the lower point, sheave D3 will bek allowed to move upwardly, thus lowering bucket No. l until the ydesired posit-ion is reached, when the hoisting engine may operate to move the two skips in balance, and under such conditions when No. 2 is raised .NQ l goes down, and when No. l reaches the level originally occupied by No. 2, No. 2 will have reached the level or dumping point originally occupied by No. 1.

This sheave D3 is associated with a sheave E. ASheave E being in the bight of the line E1, this line EI is dead-ended on the structure, extendsv down` around the sheave E,thence up vover the sheaves E2 and E3 and down to support the movable dump discharge hopper E4, which hopper has discharge guides for each of the twobuckets. E5 is a cable connecting the housing of sheaves D3 and E to the drum of a hoisting engine E, so that by means of this hoisting engine the position of sheaves D3 and E may both be `adjusted so that there is a fixed relation between the length of bucket travel and the position of the dumping hopper and movable dumping guides. Of course, separate means might be used for adjusting the position ofthe dumping hopper and adjusting the relation between the two skips, but it is simpler and ordinarily preferable to have one means do both. The same kind of electric control for stopping, starting and reversing the hoisting engine is used when two balanced skips areused as 'when a single skip is used, and, of course, if desired, the weight of the loaded bucket, buckets, hopper or traveling carriage may be counter-balanced by attaching counterweights to the sheaves D3 or`E or onto both of them to relieve'the load on the hoisting engines. s f

I have shownV my inventionprimarily as adaptedto a dumping point nor dumping means adjustable in position.V Manifestly, a

similar modified mechanism might be used, in so tar las taking up the slack in the line tor the two balanced skips, if,'instead :of an adjustable dumping point, an Iadjustable .loading point lwere involved, or it might lbe possible that both might be-adjustable. And, of course, the same is :true as regards the sinxgle skip-instead of raising and lowering` the dumping hopper, the loading .hopper might be raised and lowered.

F isa loading hopper .having a fixed chute F1, gate F2, and pivoted chutel,- This lloading hopper is ,subject to being raised and lowered along tracks F4 by means -aof a cable F going .over a sheave F6 coming down to a hoisting engine F7 so that the point of loading as well las Athe point oit discharge may be moved up and down within the range Aof operation -oi the device. Carried by this loading hopper are a pair of loading guides F8. These `guides are oi lshort length kas indicated and adapted to guide rollers F9 connected by means of .stirrups F10 to the work ing arm F11 tot the gate and chute. As the skip comes down the bottom of it engages the stirrups and forces these rollers down along the guides rotating the gate and pivoted chute from the closed position shown intermediate .top and bottom oic the figure to the open position at the bottom so that it may discharge into the skip.

Intermediate the top and bottom ot this figure is a similar fixed loading hopper, G with fixed chute G1, combined pivoted gate and chute G2, control lever G3, stirrup G4 with rollers G5. These rollers and stirrup may be, and when they are swung from the full line position into the dotted line position, they are in line with the tracks F8 and the skip will cause the upper one of the loading hoppers to function. i

Thus if desired there may be two iixed loading hoppers at different levels or there may be a single loading hopper adjustable up and down along the path oi the skip or there may be any desired combination of these two. Of course, when the position of the loading hopper is changed no matter how it is done, it becomes necessary to operate the means for changing the relative length of travel of the two skips by the same general type of mechanism as above discussed in connection with the movable dumping point. Ot course, the adjustable dumping point and adjustable loading point may be used in coordination or separately.

I claimzl. A hoisting means comprising a generally upright track, a bucket and means for moving it along the track, a dumping receptacle and means adjustable along the track for causing the bucket to dump when in its excursion it reaches the dumping receptacle, automatic control means for the bucket moving means adapted to cause the bucket to stop at and thereatter reverse its movement :away

from the dumping receptacle, said means lcomprising a switch associated with the dumping .receptacle :and adapted `to be vactu-` lated by `contact with the bucket :at the dumpreceptacle. y j

2. ln combination with a reciprocating ma# terial-handling skip of :adumping cam there- `for and means for moving it and Aholding it in predetermined position along the path of travel ci the skip, means adapted to be contacted by the .skip carried by :the dumping means for automatically stopping and reversing skip movement when the'skip has reached the dumping means.

3. In combination, a pair of balanced skips, means for moving them in opposition one to the other, dumping means associ-ated with the skips adapted to be moved along the `path of the :skips -to vary their travel from loading to dumping points, and means adjustable in con sonance with such dumping means for adjusting the relation between said skips to cause one skip to reach vthe dumping point at the same time as the other reaches the load- 'ing point, independent of their length of travel.

4. in `combination,a pair of balanced skips, means for moving them in opposition :one to the other, dumping means associated with the skips :adapted to be moved along the path of the skips to vary their travel from loading to dumping points, and excursion adjusting means adjustable in consonance with such dumping means for adjusting the relation between said skips to cause one skip to reach the dumping point at the same time as the other rreaches the loading point, independent et their length of travel, said dumping means comprising a movable hopper and dumping cams, the excursion adjusting means `comprising means for changing the effective length of the hoisting cable :of one of the buckets in consonance with movement of the dumping means.

45. A hoisting means comprising a plurality of generally upright tracks, a pair of bucket skips adapted to move along said tracks, a hoisting engine, cables extending from the hoisting engine to both of said skips, the skips being generally balanced, a dumping hopper movable along the pathof -said skips, means associated with `and Ymovable with the dumping hopper `for dumping each skip into the hopper when it reaches it, independent of -the position of the hopper, means adapted to raise and lower said hopper, sheaves associated with such means adapted to raise and lower one of said skips in consonance with movement of the hopper and independent oi normal skip movement to permit simultaneous lloading and dumping of the skips at the respective ends of their excursion independent of the length of such excursion.

6.. `iln combination two balanced skips, a

ifi

hoisting engine adapted to simultaneously move them in opposite directions, loading and dumping stations for each skip, means for varying the distance between the stations and lneans independent of and removed from the skip for changing the rela-tion between them and the hoisting engine to cause one skip to be at the dumping and the other at the loading station simultaneously independent of the distance between such stations.

7. In combination two balanced skips, a hoisting engine adapted to simultaneously move them in opposite directions, loading and dumping stations for each skip, means for varying the distance between the stations, means automatically responsive to the adjustment of the distance between the stations for changing the relation between the two .ips and the hoisting engine to canse one skip to be at the dumping and the other at the loading station simultaneously independent ofthe distance between such stations.

8. In combination two balanced skips, a hoisting engine, cables interposed between the hoisting engine and each skip whereby the engine may simultaneously move them in op# posite directions, loading and dumping stations 'for each skip, means for varying the distance between the stations, means independent of and removed from the skip for adjusting the effective length of the cables joining them through the hoisting engine to cause one skip to be at the dumping and the other at the loading Vstation simultaneously independent of the distance between such stations.

9. In combination two balanced skips, a

hoisting engine, cables interposed between the hoisting engine and each skip whereby the engine'may simultaneously7 move them in opposite directions, loading and dumping stations for each skip, meansfor varying the distance between the stations, means for adjusting the effective length of the cables joining the skips through the hoisting engine to cause one skip to be at the dumping and the other at the loading station simultaneously independent of the distance between such stations, said means being automatically responsive to the variation in the distance between the stations.

lO. In combination two balanced skips, a hoisting engine adapted to simultaneously move them in opposite directions, a dumping a loading station for each skip, means for changing the position of the loading' station and means for changing the relation between ythe two skips and the hoisting engine to cause one skip to be at the dumping and the other at the loading station independent of the change of position of the loadingl station, said means being automatically responsive to change in position of the loadingv station.

1l. In combination two balanced skips, a

hoisting engine adapted to simultaneously move them in opposite directions, a dumping and a loading station for each skip,"one station being movable, means for changing the position'of the movable station and means for changing the relation between the two skips and the hoisting engine to cause one skip to be at the dumping and the other at the loading station `independent of the change of position of the movablestation, said means being automatically responsive to change in position of thev movable station.

12. In combinatiomltwo balanced skips, a hoisting engine adapted to simultaneously move them in opposite directions, a vdumpin0f and a loading station for each skip, .both said stations being movable, means for changing the positions of each movable station, means for changing the relation between the two skips and the hoisting engine to cause one skip to be at the dumping, the other at the loading station, independent of the'change of position of either station, said means being automatically responsive to change in station position.

Signed at Philadelphia, countv of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, this 12th day of September, 1929.

GERALD J. OLDROYD. 

